Events - January 5
1885 - The Long Island Railroad Company was the first to offer piggyback
rail service. It transported farm wagons on trains and moved all those
potatoes pretty fast! Where did all of Long Island’s (NY) potato farms go
when they were replaced by houses, houses, houses?

1903 - The general public could use the Pacific cable for the very first
time.

1914 - Here’s news from the labor front: Ford Motor Company proudly
announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an
(shortened) eight-hour work day.

1925 - The first female governor in the U.S. took office in Wyoming this
day. A tip of the ten-gallon hat, please, to Mrs. Nellie Tayloe Ross who was
sworn in during special ceremonies.

1933 - What is now a symbol of the great American West, the Golden Gate
Bridge, went under construction. It would be called an engineering marvel
when completed. Spanning the deep channel at the entrance to San
Francisco Bay, with the Bay on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other,
few people-made things are as beautiful as the Golden Gate Bridge. Quite a
sight!

1935 - We proudly remind you that Phil Spitalny’s All-Girl Orchestra was
featured on CBS radio this day on the program, "The Hour of Charm".

1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first
demonstration of FM radio. The new medium, free of interference, static, and
noise in thunderstorms, was developed by Major E.H. Armstrong. The first FM
transmitter was put in operation in 1941. What did it broadcast? Talk, of
course. Well, not ‘talk’ per se, but lots of talking.

1941 - Decca record #23210 was recorded. The title: "Chica Chica Boom Chic",
by the lovely Carmen Miranda. It seems she sang the song in the film, "That
Night in Rio".

1944 - The London "Daily Mail" was the first transoceanic newspaper ever
published.

1948 - Warner Pathe showed the very first color newsreel. Pictures of the Tournament
of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football classic were seen by theatre audiences.

1955 - A tune used in a "Studio One" production became the #1 song on the
pop music charts this day. Joan Weber’s song, "Let Me Go, Lover", rode the
hit parade as the most popular record in the U.S. for four weeks straight.
Before being aired on television, the song had only been heard on a limited
basis. In fact, the title was even different. It used to be known as "Let Me
Go, Devil". Such romantics, those TV people...

1961 - “Hello. I’m Mr. Ed!” “A horse is a horse, of course, of course”...
you know the lyrics. "Mr. Ed", the talking horse, debuted for what would be
a six-year run. The show starred Alan Young as Ed’s owner, Wilbur Post.
Wilbur’s wife, Carol, was played by Connie Hines. Good old neighbor Roger
Addison was Larry Keating. The voice of Mr. Ed was... no, not Alan Young...
rather, Allan ‘Rocky’ Lane... of course, of course.

1972 - John Denver received a gold record for the album "Aerie" on this day.

1972 - President Richard M. Nixon announced that NASA would proceed with the
development of a reusable ‘low cost’ space shuttle system. He signed a $5.5
billion dollar bill for its creation. Such a deal...

1975 - The Broadway premiere of "The Wiz" receivied enthusiastic reviews. The show,
a black version of "The Wizard of Oz", ran for 1,672 shows at the Majestic Theatre.
Moviegoers, however, gave a thumbs down to the later cinema version of the musical
that starred Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. One memorable song from the show is
"Ease on Down the Road".

1979 - John Travolta probably remembers that the soundtrack LP of "Saturday
Night Fever" reached $25 million in sales.

1984 - The group, The Police, planned a farewell concert for March 2 in
Australia. After nine years together, band members decided to go their
separate ways.

1987 - When the Midshipmen beat East Carolina, 91-66, this night, David
Robinson became the first basketball player in Naval Academy history to
score more than 2,000 points. Mr. Robinson went on to become a major star in
the NBA.

1993 - Mike Ditka was dismissed as Chicago Bears head coach after 32 years
as a player and coach (11 seasons as head coach, 106-62). (In 1988, Ditka,
who played in five Pro Bowls and two conference championships (1963 and
1971), was the first tight end to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of
Fame.)

1994 - Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill died in
Boston. He was 81 years old. O’Neill was a Democratic party stalwart whose
political career spanned nine presidencies.

1998 - U.S. Congressman Sonny Bono (R-CA) was killed when he skied into a
tree at Heavenly Ski Resort on the Nevada-California line, 55 miles
southwest of Reno, Nevada. He was 62.

1794 - Edmund Ruffin (agriculturist: one of the originators of crop rotation
and fertilization; publisher: Farmer’s Register; Confederate soldier:
fired first shot on Fort Sumter in American Civil War; died June 15,
1865)

1864 - Ban (Byron Bancroft) Johnson (Baseball Hall of Famer: president of
Western League: changed minor league Western League to major league
American League; helped eliminate an element of rowdyism, thus
enhancing the game’s reputation; died Mar 28, 1931)

1895 - Jeannette (Ridlon) Piccard (balloon pilot: 1st American woman to be
free balloon pilot: set record [w/husband] for balloon ascent into
stratosphere [57,579 ft. - 1934]; one of first women to become
Episcopalian priest; died May 17, 1981)

1969 - Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner) (rock singer/performer: quote: "I
picked Marilyn Manson as the fakest stage name of all to say that
this is what show business is, fake. Marilyn Monroe wasn’t even her
real name, Charles Manson isn’t his real name, and now, I’m taking
that to be my real name. But what’s real?")